It has come to light that five popular unique food stalls in Kokurakita-ku, Kitakyushu, including a stall that serves no alcohol and one that serves ohagi bean cakes, have suspended operations after being unable to obtain road use permits from the Fukuoka Prefectural Police. The police have remarked that its license policy is “under review”, but a person involved with food stall operations sees the situation as an “unexpected consequence” of Fukuoka City’s Yatai Ordinance. The stalls in question operated primarily in front of the Tanga Market, known as “Kitakyushu’s Kitchen”, and served ramen and oden. Permit applications are required every two months, but according to stall operators, four of the five stalls that filed applications in late July (for August and September operations) were unable to win approval for their permit renewals. Kitakyushu does not have an ordinance for yatai operations, and operators have been able to run their stalls as long as they obtain road use and food sanitation permits. The police say they are not cracking down on yatai, only that stalls should be permitted to operate as long as they are run properly. Nishinippon Shimbun Aug. 28
